Mayor Answers NOW-NYC Call for Equal Pay

Fulfilling his promise delivered at NOW-NYC’s 2013 Mayoral forum, Mayor de Blasio settled the largest pay discrimination case in the country, agreeing to a $38 million dollar settlement to reimburse its mostly female School Safety Agent workforce for years of unequal wages and ensure the current workforce is paid equitably. More than 5,000 current and former School Safety Agents, a majority woman workforce, had joined the federal class-action lawsuit against the City of New York to secure equal pay.

NOW-NYC has been pushing for a settlement since last year, bringing the case to the public’s attention during the 2013 mayoral race and co-organizing several rallies at City Hall to pressure Mayor de Blasio to follow-through on his campaign promise to fairly settle the case. National equal pay advocate, Lilly Ledbetter, and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito had also joined with Teamsters Local 237 and NOW to push for the settlement.

NOW-NYC President Sonia Ossorio said, “The days of blatant pay discrimination against the mostly female workforce that protects our kids at school are finally over.”

The agents, who work in our public schools and guarantee the safety of students and teachers, were paid $7,000 less annually than other “peace officers” who work in public hospitals and government buildings across the city.